


The Hysteria Games

by st4rlabsforever (omaken)



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Misuse of powers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-14
Updated: 2016-07-14
Packaged: 2018-07-23 22:01:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7481556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/omaken/pseuds/st4rlabsforever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Barry and Cisco discover Pokemon GO. Naturally, everyone loses their minds.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Hysteria Games

**Author's Note:**

> check me out on [tumblr](http://st4rlabsforever.tumblr.com)

It was a slow, summer day in the Cortex. Cisco had his legs propped up on the central console, so when Barry radioed in with a code red, the beeping of the comms was all the warning Cisco got before he was being swept off his feet -- er...butt -- at breakneck speed.

When they finally came to a stop, Cisco had only enough time to note that they were in the heart of downtown Central City before Barry was tugging him forward by the wrist. In front of them was an enormous gathering of civilians -- mostly millenials, but some older folks, too -- so engrossed with their phones they didn’t even notice the Flash was amongst them.

“What’s going on?” Cisco asked.

“543 CP Dragonite,” Barry panted. He didn’t explain any further, but he didn’t have to. Code red, indeed. “There’s too many people.”

Cisco slid his own phone out of his pocket and tossed it to Barry. “You have to promise you’ll try to get it for me, too.”

“Always.”

“Alrighty. Get behind me.” Cisco rubbed his hands together, focusing the energy at his fingertips, and let loose an enormous electromagnetic pulse. Not strong enough to hurt anyone, but it definitely packed enough juice to short out, say...every phone in a one-mile radius.

The uproar was immediate.

 _“Go, go, go!”_ Cisco shouted. It was all Barry needed to hear before dashing into the fray.

  
When all was said and done, it took Barry fifty tries apiece to catch that blasted Dragonite, and he had to swap back and forth between his phone and Cisco’s to make sure it didn’t disappear before they both caught it, but if anyone could multitask like a mother, it was Barry.

They made their escape before anyone _really_ caught on to what they had done and the rioting started.

“Guys? What’s happening? Is everything okay?” Caitlin’s voice came out tinny over the comms.

*

When Barry walked into the Cortex after his shift at the precinct was over, Cisco handed him a couple of speedster protein bars with a muttered “Poke Stop run,” not even bothering to look away from the monitor.

The blast of wind that blew his hair across his face told Cisco that Barry got the message just fine.

He was back a couple minutes later, windswept and breathless. Cisco tried to effect an air of nonchalance, if only because Caitlin was tapping away at the keyboard right next to him, but it was a hard sell, what with all the new goodies Barry had just gotten him.

“Nice,” Cisco said as he scrolled through his phone. “Five Lucky Eggs and a ton of 10-km eggs. Very nice.”

Barry beamed.

When Cisco gave Barry a firm handshake and a clap on the back, Caitlin only sighed.

*

Cisco knew the distress call he’d programmed into Barry’s phone was meant for emergencies only, but well, this _was_ an emergency.

He had been on a stroll in Central City Park on his lunch break to see what Pokemon would turn up, minding his own business, whistling along with the 32-bit soundtrack when he saw it. ‘It’ being the Lapras conveniently situated at the center of the lake. Other people had noticed it too, if the couple wading into the water was any indication. Cisco knew the lake was a mile wide and over two hundred feet deep, though, and he had a healthy sense of self-preservation, thank you very much.

Luckily, this was what superhero boyfriends were for.

Barry was there in a literal heartbeat, all suited up with his phone in hand. Cisco had tricked out both of their phones to handle the intense heat from all the extra running Barry was doing these days; he considered it an excellent investment of STAR Labs’s resources.

“There’s a Lapras at the center of the lake,” Cisco said, and pointed in the general direction, though it was unnecessary given the crowd actively gathering on the shore. There was even a guy starting to kayak his way to the center. Poor guy. Cisco had the Flash on his side, and they weren’t planning on losing this one.

Barry grinned. “You got it, buddy.”

The blast of water from Barry’s footpath got all over Cisco’s clothes and into his shoes. It was so worth it.

*

“It’s eight o’clock,” Barry said by way of greeting. He dropped the goggles into Cisco’s lap.

“On it.” Cisco knew Cait was listening in and judging them from where sat at her work terminal, but whatever. Let her judge. He wasn’t the least bit ashamed.

With the goggles firmly fastened behind his ears, Cisco let all of space-time unfurl before him as Barry waited with bated breath. He only needed a glimpse at the rest of today, an easy task given how quickly his Vibe powers had been developing.

Hook, line, and sinker.

Cisco pulled the goggles off. “Moltres at the Ironworks Refinery at 9:15 tonight. Zapdos at the Central City Power Authority at 10. But I’m thinking we should check the timeline again at 9:30 just to make sure it hasn’t changed.”

Barry nodded in understanding. “We got this.”

“Why would the timeline change?” Cait asked from across the Cortex.

“Huh?”

“You said you were going to check the timeline again to make sure it wouldn’t change. So, why would it change?”

“Oh, uh…” Cisco felt a bit like a small child being scolded by his mother, but the important thing here was to just own it. He (and Barry) was a grown adult, and could do whatever he pleased with his free time. “Well, you see, in the original timeline, we don’t know where the Moltres and Zapdos are, but now that I’ve looked into the future...I mean, technically we’re meddling with the timelines.”

“Technically,” Barry nodded. And, because he was an awesome boyfriend, he placed a hand on Cisco’s shoulder and rubbed soothing circles with his thumb in a show of support.

“So you see, I have to check on the timeline after Barry catches the Moltres, because he was never supposed to catch him in the original timeline, and everything is thrown into flux after that. Just a little!” Cisco added, when he saw the look Caitlin was giving him.

“Just a little,” Barry parroted again with a firm nod.

Caitlin let out a deep breath and very pointedly didn’t say anything. It was probably for the best.

*

“So.” Wally was bouncing from foot to foot like an excited puppy. “I heard you two have an awesome alliance going on, and I was thinking that...maybe I could join you guys?” His words slurred together so quickly at the end that Cisco would’ve thought him a speedster if he hadn’t known better.

Cisco made eye contact with Barry, and Barry nodded, lips uncharacteristically pursed in a thin line.

“I’m sorry, Wally,” Barry said. “But you chose Team Mystic and we’re Team Valor. I can’t give you an advantage like this when you’re working against us.” And Barry, bless his heart, looked like it pained every fiber of his being to have to shoot Wally down like that. Cisco, on the other hand, wasn’t so soft. The alliance was at stake here.

“Oh, come on! You can trust me!” Wally pleaded, then to Barry, “We’re family!” when it became obvious his begging was falling on deaf ears. “I’ll delete my account and start over! I can choose Team Valor if I start over again.”

Barry looked like his resolve was starting to crumble, so Cisco figured it was time for him to step in. “We don’t know what sort of alliances you could’ve made already, and we control a third of the city’s gyms. It’s just too risky.”

“But…!”

“Sorry Wally. He’s right,” Barry said quietly, avoiding eye contact.

“Wait! Let me in and I’ll get you Joe’s chili recipe, the one you guys love.”

Cisco froze. His own look of shock was mirrored on Barry’s face.

“I’ve been living with him for eighteen years and he still won’t give it to me,” Barry said. “How are you going to get it?”

“Oh, I’ll get it.” The determination in Wally’s eyes somehow surpassed Barry’s on even his best day.

Cisco squinted at him. “I suppose we could make an exception just this once.”

Barry nodded.

*

“I really don’t get it,” Caitlin said. On the other end of the Cortex, Barry, Cisco and Wally were chatting animatedly with their phones out, Cisco occasionally passing Barry a protein bar and Barry subsequently gathering up their phones and zipping out in a blur of yellow lightning.

“Hey, you and me both,” Joe said from beside her.

*

“Hi, Caitlin.” Hartley gave her a warm smile and a peck on the cheek.

Caitlin smiled back, but still looked confused. “What are you doing here?”

“Ah…” his eyes shifted to the left. “Just some business with Cisco. Don’t let me disturb your work.”

“What’s up?” Cisco asked. Hartley didn’t come by the lab often, so when he did was usually a cause for interest.

“I’ll make this quick. I want to propose an alliance.”

Cisco spluttered. “Wh-what?!”

“An alliance. You and Barry control thirty percent of the city’s gyms. I control fifteen percent. Do I need to do the math?”

“I...but I…” What? Hartley Rathaway played Pokemon Go? 404 Error. Blue screen of death.

“Let’s use the conference room, shall we?” Hartley was already walking down the hall with purpose.

Cisco lamely paged Barry over the comms -- “Code red, dude” -- then followed after Hartley.

“Are you going to start using code red for every Pokemon-related emergency?” Caitlin asked, dry.

*

“So, as you can see,” Hartley said, with a sweeping gesture to the room at large, “I can take care of myself. I’ve taken about half as many gyms as you two have without superspeed or vibing.”

“We were busy,” Barry muttered. “I’d like to see you try taking over the city while fighting crime every five seconds.”

“Mhm.” Cisco nodded and gave Barry a pat on the back.

“ _Anyway_ , here’s what I can bring to the table.” Hartley slid two identical looking manilla folders across the table. “I’ve compiled an algorithm that tracks social media and every text message sent within the city for any mentions of specific Pokemon. When it gets a hit, it provides the location that Pokemon can be found at.”

“Why didn’t you think of this?” Barry asked, flipping through the pages and pages of reports detailing complicated algorithms and codes.

“Why didn’t _you_?” Cisco shot back.

“I’m not the tech guy. I’m just the feet, remember?”

Cisco sighed.

“What’ll it be, boys?”

Cisco glanced over at Barry, who nodded once.

“Alright,” Cisco said. “You’re in. But _no funny business_.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

*

Cisco received a text from Cait at 2 in the morning.

_I ran out of Poke Balls! What do I do???_

Cisco grinned. O, sweet victory. He knew she couldn’t resist forever. No one could, not even Hartley. Cisco may have invented the Flash suit and all of the accompanying speed-enabling gadgetry, but this was his finest work yet.

And, since he was an excellent friend, he welcomed her to the team with open arms.

*

Barry arrived in the Cortex in a rush of wind, sending papers flying everywhere as per usual.

“Felicity and Digg are Team Instinct. I tried to talk them out of it, but…” Barry was panting and staring back at Cisco with the big, sad eyes -- the ones he got when he was too late to save every civilian from a burning building. And Cisco got it, he really did.

He draped a comforting arm over Barry’s shoulder. “It’s okay. You can’t save ‘em all.”

“Cisco, what do we _do_?”

“We show them what’s up. Teach them a lesson.” Barry frowned, but nodded along anyway.

*

Felicity hacked all of the computers in STAR Labs in response to Barry snatching her and Diggle’s phones just as they were about to catch an Alakazam.

Barry retaliated by transferring her Snorlax over to Professor Willow before she could so much as blink. And hey, it might have been excessively evil, but this was war.

*

“Can you all hurry up and get your damn Poke meet wrapped up so we can discuss actual crime in Central City?” Joe had his legs propped up on Cisco’s desk as the rest of the team gathered in the conference room.

Cisco rolled his eyes. “Have some patience. We’re still waiting on one more. And _don’t get any dirt on my computer_.” He pointed at Joe with the phone in his hand.

Some minutes later, Iris strode into the Cortex and gave Joe a quick kiss on the cheek. “Hey, dad! Talk to you later.”

In the conference room, Iris took a seat and said, “Sorry I’m late. I was getting the scoop on the Mew rumors from Linda.”

“No big,” Cisco said, and cleared his throat. “As you all know, we now collectively have control of sixty percent of the gyms in Central City. By month’s end, we’re aiming to have them all, then we expand our base to Star City.”

Joe scrubbed his face in his hands. He had no idea how this had even happened.

Actually, that wasn’t true. He knew exactly what went down. It had started with Cisco, who had spread the craze to his son, not that Barry had needed much convincing to begin with. From there, his other son had fallen next, and somewhere down the line, Caitlin, Iris, and Hartley had succumbed as well.

From the conspicuous looks they were all shooting him from the conference room, Joe had no doubt they planned to convert him next, and he wasn’t having any of it. After all, he still had a score to settle with Wally (and the rest of the team, by extension) for the chili recipe.

Joe was definitely going to need a stiff drink tonight. He just hoped this would die down soon.


End file.
